The Louis CK Talking To Dane Cook Scene Is Genuinely Important

On last night’s episode of Louie, it’s Louie’s daughter’s birthday, so he gives her tickets to some make-believe bubble gum pop star’s concert, but it turns out his daughter prefers Lady Gaga. So Louie talks to his agent (played perfectly by a 9-year-old) to see if there’s a way to get tickets to see Lady Gaga, but the only comedian who shares her promotion company is Dane Cook. Wanting so badly to please his daughter, Louie goes to Madison Square Garden (or whatever) and visits him backstage. And what follows is the scene that I have posted after the jump, and it is amazing. (You almost certainly know the history behind this scene, but Dane Cook has very famously been accused of stealing Louis C.K.’s material.) First of all, it’s just a very good scene. It’s funny and well done and it makes for a good TV show. Second of all, it is important. For real. Not only is this one of the more interesting things to happen on television in a long time, but it has a lot of really important things to say about the way that we lead our lives that people do not really talk about very much even just in the world much less on a basic cable sitcom. Let’s watch the scene (again) and then let us unpack it, yes? Sure!

Man. OK, so, first of all, congratulations to everyone involved on this. I am not a Dane Cook fan personally but he gets Big Points for this. Yes, it allows him to tell his side of the story, which he has never really done before (unless he did it on Marc Maron’s podcast or something, but that episode was before my time and I do not pay for podcasts, no offense podcasts none taken) and he comes off looking much better for it, but somehow the scene is impressively generous to BOTH of these dudes. They both seem reliable and decent and it doesn’t feel like any sacrifices were made in order to score a “television event.” (Also, let’s keep this in perspective. The number of people who actually care about the Louis C.K. vs. Dane Cook thing could probably fit inside of a gas station.) The jokes that Louis pokes at Dane about the way he says 2006 or his Time magazine cover are funny but they are also gentle. No one is getting away with any secret cruelty. The scene does not play out at anyone else’s expense. It really is as open and honest of a thing as scripted television can be.

None of that, of course, explains why this scene might be IMPORTANT. So here is why: in the end, this is not a scene about Louis C.K. and Dane Cook talking about joke stealing, this is a scene about forgiveness, acceptance, self-examination, fatherhood, fame, courage, honesty, and mortality. That’s a lot! Those are REALLY important things! What this scene says, at least I think, is that no matter what other people do in life, you need to be responsible for your own behavior. There are people in this world who are victims of terrible crimes, that is not what we are talking about here. This is about confronting and acknowledging the thousand cuts that we are constantly exchanging on the way to our mutually assured destruction. As often as not, our reaction to being injured is to injure others, and ultimately that is wrong. That is a losing scenario for everyone involved. Of course, what makes this scene even more interesting is a momentary consideration of the history leading up to it. Not just the “Dane Cook is a joke thief” thing, but the fact that is ultimately ancient herstory at this point, and that Louis C.K. continued to press on and do his job, and he now has a successful television show and sells out Carnegie Hall. He is, by all accounts, hugely successful in his own right. This doesn’t diminish what Dane may or may not have done (and I think the itchy asshole moment in this scene is one of the better descriptions of the ways in which sometimes people do just get the same ideas about things because no duh) but it does suggest that at the end of the day everyone needs to just keep going, and if you wallow in self-pity or you focus on negative things that might slow you down you will never get to confront your own Dane Cook on your own FX show. You know what I mean.

It would be grandiose to suggest that anyone should take any serious life lesson from a scene in which two comedians hash out their professional grievances on a TV show, but I do think that it’s at least a welcome reminder that there are more important things in life than, well, just about everything we spend our time worrying about. It just doesn’t matter that much! When all is said and done, whatever you are concerned with and obsessing about today will be completely unimportant when it comes time to give your daughter a meaningful gift on her 10th birthday. When all is said and done, you will be dead.

So there’s that.

UPDATE: I just had a discussion with a friend of mine who disagreed with me on pretty much all points about this scene, and that is totally reasonable and he had a lot of very good things to say in defense of his position, but one of his main grievances besides everything that I said was of my use of the word “important” and I do think that our discussion helped clarify for me a little what I mean by that, because in a lot of ways it is clearly the least “important” thing that has ever happened. I guess what I mean is that, for me, this scene was interesting and meaningful, and that somehow seems like a huge accomplishment considering that we are talking about a sitcom. A sitcom dealing with very niche subject matter. And so the way that this scene is “important” is as an example of what is possible in terms of creating resonance within the context of television, or comedy, or narrative, or art, or what have you. More things should be like that. I don’t know, I just felt like adding this clarification. Donate to children living in war-torn Sudan here.

Last night, from the instant that Louis walked into the dressing room all the way up until the commercial break, I sat and watched this scene intently. Not looking at my phone, not pausing to get anything from the fridge, not doing else. At the end of it, I realized that I almost never feel riveted to a television show. Thoughts?

I never thought I would say this but I was super impressed that Dane Cook did this. First of all, most of the people who watch the show at the very least don’t care for him very much. And to allow the whole setup of all the security at his show, and the lines about how famous he was in 200 and 6, and the way he let Louie subtly take him down a notch about that very fame, and discussing his anger about being labeled a rock star when Louie is a Comedians Comedian. Especially after Joan Rivers called him an asshole on Louie’s show a few weeks ago. It was all extremely honest and candid. I definitely gained a lot of respect for him.

I don’t take Dane Cook’s Side, nor Louis,’ but Cryptomnesia is real, I have been guilty of it, and I can’t fault Dane for that. That said, Dane is not very funny. He is just a hyperactive goof. Congrats to him for making it big.

I used to really like Cook, but like a lot of things you like when you’re 21, I grew out of him. He’s funny and talented and I don’t think he’s a joke-stealing monster like Carlos Mencia or that douche who ripped off Patton Oswalt. I think he takes a lot of shit in the same way that a lot of mainstream bands take a lot of shit from people who listen to “good” music.

We all had a Bush CD growing up and we all listened to it on repeat on the way to our family’s cottage on Pickeral Lake in Baldwin, Michigan, is what I’m saying.

I think this scene is a great example of how Louie (the show and the man) experiments with tone in ways other TV comedies don’t and succeeds as a result. Even other slightly artsy or high brow-ish shows like 30 Rock don’t sit and meditate on moods like this scene did. I’m not trying to diminish 30 Rock–because part of its appeal is its restlessness–but I just think it’s admirable and fresh in a way that Louie doesn’t just throw in as many jokes as possible in 22 minutes. Instead, the show will make you sit through a pretty long lip sync/car ride bit or a wordless scene that juxtaposes an angelic violinist with America’s next top hobo. The show just takes its time to build these moods and tones, and then there are some jokes that creep in, too, and play on what the audience is already feeling.
Also, can I just mention that “I love you / you wreck me” speech from episode 6? Crimeny.

Also, it’s a little tragic that because of the reaction the second half of this episode is getting/will get, most people will gloss over the brilliant and fantastic first half (‘Oh Louie’). I’d love to watch a sitcom where the main character suddenly realizes he’s in a shitty sitcom and gets pissed off about it.

I thought the write up was brilliant, the scene was brilliant, the update, not so much. I appreciate your friends point of view, and I appreciate that you appreciate your friends point of view, but the fact that you called the scene important is irrelevant to what you wrote. It’s a grabber/headline, and for fans of comedy and this particular situation it was an incredibly enlightening read.

Probably about 80% of my friends and current acquaintances are comedians of some sort, and they are practically unanimous in their love of Louis C.K. and their hatred of Dane Cook. I get it. Louie is a comedian’s comedian, no doubt.

I have to say, though, that I listened to Dane Cook’s first couple of albums before I knew who he was, and that I was contractually obligated as a comedian to hate him, and you know what? I thought they were funny. He’s not a philosopher, like Louie, or a precise wordsmith, like Steven Wright or Jerry Seinfeld or Demetri Martin. He’s more like Bill Cosby: he tells stories with an infectious, childish energy. His material may not be smart, exactly, but his delivery — at least before he became mega-famous — is playful and apparently owes a little to his days as an improvisor. If he’s not the kind of guy I would necessarily be friends with, he’s at least the frattish friend of my sister’s that I’m surprised to find is actually a pretty fun guy to party with once or twice a year.

That being said, that HBO special where he’s on a round stage surrounded by screaming teenagers was awful, and I would like to never see him in a lead role of a movie ever again.

Sincere kudos to both of them for doing this scene, and to Gabe for snarklessly singing its praises.

This kinda reminds me of when David Cross did that stand up bit where he just RAILED against James Lipton and, to a small extent, James Lipton’s wife, but then they played opposite a few years later on Arrested Development. I always wondered if Lipton ever even knew about Cross’s bit, but no matter what it must have been pretty damn awkward for Cross.

By the way, Louis correcting Dane on “2000 and 6″ — that is the kind of correction I can hardly ever stop myself from issuing in conversation. If you want to get invited to a lot of parties, you should start doing it too.

ech, I don’t know. I really like Louis C.K. and I don’t totally dislike Dane Cook.

I’m always interested in the truth of what really happened, and what I wondered was: what jokes in particular? And: I’d like to be the judge of whether he stole them or whatever.

It IS nice that they managed to get beyond whatever gripe they had between them, and I think this was Gabe’s point…but…

I’m still stuck on the gripe! I mean, I wasn’t before this post, but now I am! What 3 jokes?! It’s nice that adults can get along. This I knew. It happens every day in my line of work. I guess I’m not into the whole comedy scene, I don’t know much about it.

Late comment. But I actually appreciated the first half of the episode more. Example… The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom that pulls in a ton of audience that clap at crap. It goes for the easy joke and not the actually funny. But Community is original and goes for the funny. Yet, BBT is way more popular than Community. I felt like Louie was telling us not to sell out and that there is something more awesome out there.

Also, maybe I read into it to much and I’m about to start Luther on my Netflix.

Before I read your update, Gabe, I wanted to say this: How is this important to anyone but them? I mean, it’s decently to well acted (I say that only because I have been known to enjoy poorly acted films for their acting, exclaiming to my friends how well-acted they are) and the history behind the scene certainly gives it truth. But I really don’t care about whether or not Dane Cook stole Louis CK’s jokes. One: If you like Louis, then you know they’re his jokes and you’ll keep liking him. And who cares if people like Dane Cook? And Two: It may be unfair that Dane Cook has in some way earned money off of someone else’s work, but it seems odd that people would care so much about that situation when a similar situation COULD happen to me at my job and no one could (or should) give a shit. It’s their problem to figure out, just as it would be my problem to figure out in my fictional work-fraud situation.

So then I read your update and I still think those things. I’m glad you helped clarify your thoughts and have put things into perspective, but I would also like to point out that it’s hard to find things to resonate with in pop culture and that if you’re really craving or are in need of that, you might find some elsewhere (i.e. not sitcoms).

Oh man, I gotta say it, I’ve been feelin’ it for a while, but one of the best things about Gabe/Videogum (the two are equivalent, right, Kelly?) is that the funny is important, the funny is why we’re here, but when Gabe has a message to speak, he speaks it fo realz. And he makes it part of the funny. Thank you for the happy marriage of humor and ethics, Gabe. Also, the internet. And people. It’s a polyamorous marriage.

In a way, all of us has a Dane Cook to face. For some, shyness might be their Dane Cook. For others, a lack of education might be their Dane Cook. For Louis CK, Dane Cook is a rich, popular comic who steals jokes. But the Louis CK can conquer his own personal Dane Cook, who also happens to be *the actual* Dane Cook!

retch. your friend is a pretentious asshat. He’s very confused about cause and effect.

TV is a mass communication media, and, It’s ridiculous to imply that nothing it does is important unless it directly feeds starving kids or ends war. It’s a false dichotomy. TV comedy, e.g., Stephen Colbert, affects things like society and politics, which affects the world. Daily starvation and killing are themselves just collateral damage of these larger forces.

Can’t believe no one’s mentioned my favorite part of this scene: The WPA poster (“Federal Varieties”) lying behind Dane. In a time of profound economic hardship, this is a truly IMPORTANT (yet subtly delivered) message!

I wonder if the writer would feel different if another writer plagarized his work, got lots of accolades for it. Would Gabe say “you know what? What’s done is done” or would Gabe harbor some resentment for it and expose the thief?

Of course Louie shouldn’t be looked down upon for letting this particular thing go. He should totally forget about that situation and Cook (to the point that he shouldn’t have acknowledged it or Cook on his show). Everyone else has pretty much forgotten about Cook, so why not let that has been fade into the sunset?

Most Viewed

Last spring the world got a brief preview of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, the secret Wu-Tang Clan album that will be released in a limited edition of 1 and auctioned off to the highest bidder. That might be all most of us hear from the project for the rest of our… More »

Kanye West debuted his much-leaked single "All Day" at the Brit Awards last week, and now a studio version has emerged. The So Help Me God song's bouncy, bass-heavy beat also features verses from Allan Kingdom and Theophilus London, and a massive "Monster"/"Black Skinhead"-style riff slices through the track from time… More »

Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" was one of the defining jams of summer 2012, but it was the sort of song that screamed "one-hit wonder" from the rooftops. Well, that's not going to be the case. Today, Jepsen comes back with a new single called "I Really Like You," and it is absolute top-shelf… More »

Die Antwoord seemed to be on the verge of climbing to a new tier of celebrity this year with Ninja and Yolandi Visser playing prominent roles in the dystopian sci-fi twee oddity Chappie. Now they'll definitely be more famous, but not for the right reasons; notorious might be a better word for it. Drake and… More »

Mumford & Sons have announced the details of their third full-length, Wilder Mind, and it's bound to sound pretty different from the rest of the folk-rock group's output. As As they told Rolling Stone, the band went completely electric for the new album, ditching the folkier elements that catapulted them to fame. "We felt… More »